Doctor Who: Season 7-5
by Doctor Who - Season 7.5-7.9
Summary: Set after 11x6: As it turns out, two hundred years is actually quite a lot of time.
1. Welcome to DW:7-5

**Doctor Who: S7.5**

* * *

After setting Amelia and Rory Pond back down to Earth, the Doctor has a few hundred years to himself. In that time he saves planets, ruins lives, reduces species to dust and brings extinct races back from death. However, it does take awhile to adjust to traveling alone, and there are an awful lots of answers he'd like to have sorted out. Not to mention he has quite a few things he'd better start answering for.

In the course of this season, you will have the pleasure of Jack Harkness and Tesla being in the same room, the friendly sort of witches, the Ood, some classic who aliens, absolutely no daleks/cybermen/weeping angels. Also plenty of original aliens, worlds and stories. Oh and the Empire of the Moon is going to have an appearance.

This season is partially written because aliens are fun and history is also fun, but also because I have disagreements with the character and plot direction Moffat has made. I'm sure if you enjoy his work - I like Sherlock BBC - you will have no problems with this fanfiction, however, it is going to be different. If anybody has an issue with my portrayal of anything (sexuality, ethnicity, disability) please drop me a PM or put it in a review. Finally, whilst I will be making every effort to be intersectional, it's not possible to do anything, but I'd love suggestions!

* * *

**Episode 1:** The Mines of Tara

**Episode 2:** A Mother's Touch

**Episode 3:** A Humble Proposition

**Episode 4:** Swampe

**Episode 5:** Epitaph

**Episode 6**: Still Here

**Episode 7**: Paradox

**Episode 8**: Ahead of Our Time

**Episode 9:** The Princess

**Episode 10:** Five Hundred Years In the Future, A Tapestry is Stolen

**Episode 11:** A Royal Wedding

**Episode 12**: Let There Be Dark

**Christmas Special:** We Can Save Us With Our History

* * *

Please note Episode Nine, The Princess is a mild crossover fic with the fantastic urban myth, The Princess. I urge you to read up on it, but maybe not before reading Ep 9 to avoid spoilers. Whatever floats your boat though.

DW:S7.5 features multiple original characters, some of which are in the position of companion. Whilst there is care taken in trying to avoid the mary-sue trap, please feel free to contact me if you have any concerns about how any of the characters are portrayed, particularly with regards to potential sueism.

Whilst 7.5 takes place in an arc that should feature a lot of River Song, she does not in fact feature in this first season.


	2. E1: The Mines of Tara

**The Mines of Tara**

* * *

** T**here was little that gave the Doctor less pleasure than the horrible guttural groan that gurgled from the TARDIS' stomach. She gave a few frantic whirrs, wound to a rocky stop and gave a final phut, as if to say, well stuff that.

"Oh no no, girl," The Doctor staggered up to his feet, and ran his hands through his hair, before almost falling onto the TARDIS' controls. "Sexy girl, come on, let's try thi- woah woah woah!"

The TARDIS gave a low hiss and a puff of steam was spat into the Doctor's face. He pulled a lever, and held it down whilst pressing buttons. He even tossed in a few random button presses – just in case. "Rory would you-" He paused, and grumbling to himself, reached as far as he could to turn a brassy dial at the other side of the iris. "Well you'd have stuffed it up anyway, should have asked Amy."

He finished turning the dial, and the TARDIS flicked back to life giving off the distinct sound a car makes as it revs haplessly in mud. An apt sound as that appeared to be what was happening to the TARDIS.

"Oh come on!" The Doctor released all the switches at once as the growling started turning into a high-pitched screech. The TARDIS rocked on the spot unhappily, and the Doctor slumped over the control panel, deep in thought.

"If," He eyed the iris suspiciously. "You've decided to break down in Oinas, I will literally," He waggled a finger at the iris, leaning into the gesture, "And I do mean literally," He wavered. "Beee," Paused. "Be, very angry with you."

That said, he sauntered away from the controls to the door and glanced back at the iris again. "Now you stay put, okay?" He made for the door, but turned back and looked meaningfully at the console stem. "I mean it." Satisfied the Doctor opened the door, and looked back once more. He pointed at the iris threateningly. "Mph! Stay."

With that he finally left the TARDIS and stepped foot into a lot of darkness, and a puddle of glowing – and cold – cyan gloop.

"Oh that's cold that's cold oh no that's very cold." The Doctor hopped out of the puddle, letting the TARDIS door swing shut behind him. He examined his leg and squirmed, "Ew-"

Looking up, he squinted into the darkness, and a series of crystals (suspiciously the same colour as the gloopy gloop glooply) lit up across the walls, revealing in the dim blue light two young children with the most fantastic red hair looking at him rather stoically

* * *

**A/N:**

Now ideally, this would be where you hear the theme song, but you'll have to make do with my commentary. I've had this story bumping around my head for a bit - and I'm afraid it's a two-parter. I actually had a dream about this story, although of course I'd like to think I pulled out the plot holes from it. Anyway, in my dream it was Ten who was involved with this plot, traveling with Rory and Amy (there's one plot hole for you.

Either way, I've decided to set S7.5 in the interlude between the Doctor's Death and dropping the Ponds off. From that point I actually will be messing with the canon, and namely, trying to fix whatever Moffat did to it. Granted, DW's canon is not the most balanced on a good day, but I feel like there's a lot that should be retconned with Eleven's run. Although Matt Smith is of course a phenomenal actor.

Now, I'm not here to talk about all my issues with Moffat's showrunning, and at times his own writing, but you should bear in mind, some of what I will be doing is retconning bits and pieces.

Anyhow, welcome to the _Mines of Tara_, E1/7.5.

I've tried to write it in a more cinematic style, which leaves a little to be desired in terms of transitions, but please read it as such.

* * *

"Hello there" The Doctor called out. "Um," He looked down at his trouser leg covered in the already drying, gleaming muck. "I don't suppose you know where this is – or er, what year it is?" Neither child responded, although the taller glanced at the younger one before looking back at The Doctor. "It's alright!" He called out again, holding up his empty hands and showing both sides. "I'm not going to hurt you!" He took a cautious step towards them.

At once the eldest gave a tiny laugh. "I'm not s' sure," The boy had an irish brogue even better than his ginger hair. "You should be worried about us, sir; this is Tara."

"Tara? Ooh, no don't tell me- uh, mining world, uh," The Doctor almost hopped on the spot. "Don't tell me at-"

"Colonized in the year o' the dragon, circa 3677 s.d by irish separatists. Failed to adapt to terraforming in normal time. Purchased by Dorchadas Mining Corps some fifty years after upon the discovery of the local crystals as p'tential energy source. Seven point five five five five fi-"

The Doctor blinked at the smaller boy, who looked at him rather steadily back.

"Sorry about my brother, sir," The elder apologized. "He's a few coals short of a shute-"

"Five." The boy finished, triumphantly pleased before settling back to stoic.

"It's okay – I just like showing off." The Doctor laughed, and instantly the eldest boy seemed to become less stiff. "So why," He closed the space remaining between himself and the two children. "Shouldn't I be worried about two young irish colonists in a, is this a mine?" He looked around. "Tara, mining world, dark, mine. Mines are dark. Right."

The boy turned a rosy pink, visible even in the dreary light. "Well I mean t'say that y'should be more worried for yourself. Sir."

"Not Sir, just the Doctor."

"Doctor Who, sir?"

"No, no, just the-"

"This." The younger boy put in again. The Doctor and he met eyes very briefly, before the child clumsily dropped his gaze to the floor. "No?"

"Just the Doctor is fine," The Doctor fluffed the boy's hair, and the child shrank away and ran behind his brother.

"Don't mind him, I'm Sean and that's little brother," Sean looked at The Doctor curiously. "I think I better introduce you to Skip, sir." Sean pointed down a nearby tunnel. "Our main quarts are thattaway, follow us."

The three of them began leisurely walking down the tunnel Sean had indicated, and as they approached the crystals lit up, fading as they passed by. "What are these crystals?" The Doctor touched one briefly, and even – after glancing at the two boys – began to sonic one. It hummed at the Doctor's pokes, but didn't respond to the screwdriver.

"Oh, they're energy sources, like charge packs, y'know?" Sean pressed his palm on a larger one, and it left a brighter glowing handprint that began to fade as he drew his hand back. "Responds and the like to people, so safer than hadrons."

"It responds to living electrical fields?" The Doctor attempted to sonic the crystal again.

"No no, to people. Thoughts."

"Psychic crystals?" The Doctor peered closer at the crystal.

"No." Little Brother put in.

"Come to think, sir," Sean blushed again. "I- I mean doc' but that's a broken crystal on y'leg isn't it?" The boy was now looking at the floor. "I… only seen that once bef-"

At this point there were set upon a scrawny, scruffier looking brown-haired boy that jaunted in a circle around the group. "Ey there Sean, little brother, you guys gonna be in trouble with Skipadee."

"This is Gruffalo," Sean ignored Gruffalo, and diplomatically introduced him to the Doctor. "This is… The Doctor?"

"Har har," Gruffalo settled in to the side of them, hands hooked behind his head. "What's a grown-up doing here anyway?"

"You'll be in rate trouble if y'talk like that Gruffalo," Sean muttered irritably. "Dunno. He was in the LCT, that be the lower caverns theta section." Sean added the last for The Doctor's convenience.

"Psh, I know Sean," Gruffalo rolled his eyes.

"Yer but-"

"This."

* * *

By the time The Doctor reached whatever the 'main quarts' were, they had been joined by a tiny sea of children of varying ages, few younger than four, and none older than thirteen. Sean had attempted to introduce them to the Doctor but as the number of small people increased, he was having a hard time keeping it straight which ones he had introduced and which he had not yet.

"Oh, watch out for Snapple," Sean called out as some small someone had crawled up the Doctor's side and unhooked the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and had already leaped off him delightfully waving it around. The Doctor caught a glimpse of a tiny dark-haired girl with scruffy plaits bouncing off into the sea of children.

"Cling please stop-" Sean implored, tugging on a tiny mouse of a girl that was hooked resolutely on the Doctor's clean leg.

"But he's my daddy." Cling insisted obviously, and the Doctor took another huge step, child still attached.

"Ooh!" Yelled another small someone – The Doctor saw them make a flying leap for his other leg – he was mostly sure that was Foxtrot. "I want a daddy too!"

"I'm not sharing!" Cling wailed.

The Doctor continued with his massive steps, as Sean tried to get the sonic screwdriver back from the wild dogpile of children. "Please don't break his thing!"

Gruffalo laughed, but suddenly paled, and hissed at the boy nearest to him: "Skip!"

Almost at once the children scattered to the various carved steps, sitting down neatly, some cross-legged and others with their legs swinging over the sides. The only one not sitting down appropriately was the young girl Cling, still – as predicted from her name – attached to the doctor's leg. There the instigator of this entire change entered the room.

A fifteen or perhaps sixteen year old girl, with dirty blonde twintails, fierce brown eyes, a thousand freckles, and the perfectly confident akimbo stance of a teenager (with too much influence over the kids she was babysitting) stood in the doorway. Wearing a worn pair of overalls, jacket tied at her hips, and looking entirely too suspicious. The infamous Skip.

"Ah, so you must be the artful dodger of these mines?" The Doctor hobbled over to the wildcat of a teenager. He offered a hand for her to shake, and she looked at it suspiciously without taking it.

"S' what's got you talkin' like one of the family?" Skip asked with interest, stepping past him, and patting Cling on the head as she did so. Gruffalo hopped over to her quickly.

"Sean found a grown-up in LCT."

Skip looked at Sean, who shrugged sheepishly. "Little Brother found him really…"

Skip stalked back over to the Doctor, and as she walked past the kids she handed out the occasional pat on the head, highfive, fist bump and at the end, passed Snapple a small bag of sweets which were set upon by the children like a pack of hungry puppies.

"So, what're you doin' here then, eh?" Skip hooked her hands on her hips again.

Fumbling for the psychic paper, The Doctor held it up for her to examine. "Well as you can see-"

"You're an inspector from Dorchadas?" Skip raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, yes then, what am I inspecting th-"

"See says he's my daddy!" Cling was peering up and said so quite loudly.

"Nuh-uh!" Interrupted Gruffalo. "He's here to let me know about my promo."

"Food man!" Argued another child.

"It's… blank to me." Sean mumbled in confusion.

Skip held her hand up. "Well, then," She smirked at The Doctor. "Aside from the fact, if y'were the inspector, you'd know f'sure what you were inspectin' it's clear this thing shows what explains things t'people." The Doctor grinned foppishly at her. "Busted!" She tugged one of her twin tails. "Wanna tell us all what y'really about?"

* * *

A halting explanation later, Skip and the kids were happily bouncing around the TARDIS after The Doctor. "Gosh," Hare laughed. "It's got so much largeness inside of it!"

Skip looked at The Doctor, skepticism finally out of her eyes. "S'you travel round the universe fixing things huh?"

"That's the general idea." The Doctor winced as one of the kids tried to lick a wall in the TARDIS. With determination he eventually shrugged, and smiled at Skip. But Skip was a few feet behind him, dragging her steps and looking at the floor. "You alright Skip?"

"Are…" By now the two of them had fallen behind the group. "Are you here to fix this?"

The Doctor didn't hesitate. "That's the general idea."

Skip started walking alongside The Doctor again, still resolutely staring at the floor. "Kids should not b'in mines." Skip was tugging her left twin tail so hard it was a wonder she wasn't wincing. "We lose a few ev'ry week. But y'know I lost a big sis to hunger, and I'd rather take m'chance with the mine y'know?"

"You're right," The Doctor agreed quietly. "Some of these kids are far too young to be here." His gut wrenched at the thought of what she meant by lost. She said it as though she had somehow misplaced something that meant everything to her. "Why aren't adults doing this work?"

"Y'don't know anything 'bout Tara do you?" Skip looked up, and peered after the gaggle of children ahead of them. "They safe in 'ere?"

"Safe as anything," The Doctor reassured Skip. "She won't let them get hurt."

"I gotta' introduce you t'some- Sean!" She called out, and the red head, who had been dragging his own feet to overhear the Doctor and Skip talking quickly came over. "Sean, can you look after the littles? Tell Gruffalo I l'ft him in charge though."

The boy nodded and jogged off down the corridor after the kids. Skip looked the Doctor dead in the eye. "I need t' introduce you to Wire."

* * *

Wire was an elderly lady with hands that shook and teeth that chattered. Hunched over a small device she was repairing, Skip explained quietly to the Doctor. "Wire w's five when she started with the mines, she was meant to be done when she was sixteen, but she got fired too late. You get older n' you can't never leave." Skip swallowed. "You be stuck here for sure – nine hundred you said – but I gotta get out soon, m' baby sis gonna starve out there if I get fired and stuck in 'ere. And it ain't right. I know we all got to work to eat, and nobody deserves charity, but it still-"

"You really don't need to explain yourself to me, Skipadee," The Doctor murmured, watching Wire's hands rattle. "It's your employers who need to explain a few things."

A clatter as the device Wire was holding fell from her hands, and the Doctor stalked over, picked it up, and kneeling next to Wire, closed her hands carefully about the device.

"Like why a five year old should lose a beautiful life to this. Or why you don't have a big sister anymore. Somebody needs to explain that."

* * *

An opening shot of a woman coloured in gray-scale, head in hands.

"Did you burn your tea?"

Another shot of a crying toddler, also gray-scale.

"Did you put too much milk in?"

A man screaming on his hands and knees, staring into the sky in pained despair.

"Did you put a lemon in, but forget and put milk in as well?"

A sunny looking lady stepped in front of a montage of tea faux pas. "We're British, so we understand," She reassured. "And we're here for you." The woman walked off screen and into the shot with the woman, comforting her, before moving onwards to the toddler, and handing them a sippycup of tea, and finally, placed her hand on the shoulder of the wailing man and helped him to his feet.

A black screen with a phone number on it, as well as the text Tea Support Group.

"Let's make your long face an oolong face. Now returning to our sponsors for some more wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey Doctor Who!"

* * *

"Okay," The Doctor rubbed both his hands together excitedly. "Stock take – what have we got?" He looked round at the cavern of children with interest, and enthusiasm.

Sean shrugged, "Bits n' bobs?" He gestured vaguely towards tunnels. "We know these mines better n'anyone. Even Timmy could tell ya' how to get through them, but you gotta' know the way. Tunnels can't be ana-shalyzed and cave-ins happen all the time. Gotta' live here to know the way. An' there's only one way in and out too."

"That's the truth," Skip agreed. "Plenty enough newies get lost in these caves, let alone an outsider."

"Not to mention I don't think any of the big bad company are going to sacrificing their lives in these caves like they ask of you." The Doctor commented cheerily. "Nice to know people will always be hypocritical sods."

"People ain't so bad though." Sean protested.

"But not the people who sit in the fancy offices whilst you lot are dying in these caves." The Doctor finished off. Sean turned bright red and nodded.

"Yeah not that muck," Gruffalo agreed willingly. "They got them bots to come in 'ere though."

"Bots can't do the work we do; crystals aren't exactly partial to machines," Skip explained. "So we gotta watch out for that. Not to mention the security system."

The Doctor reached for his sonic screwdriver, "Well me and-" He looked around. "Where did I?"

"Oi, Snapple," Skip called out. "Toss that his way or you'll be in a whole world of pain."

A screwdriver was thrown through the air, and the Doctor fumbled it for a few seconds before turning it into a graceless and accidental twirl of the sonic. "Well, me and my screwdriver are going to have a nice little chat with that security system."

"My screwdriver n' I." Little Brother corrected.

"That's right!" The Doctor agreed, before adding a little snottily. "Also, and." He smiled in a friendly fashion, but Little Brother shrugged and appeared not to have taken offence. "Those bots you mentioned might be a problem. I can probably disable them if I had access to their mainframe."

"Mite problem there," Skip hummed. "That mainframe is kept outside and you ain't going anywhere."

"Not going anywhere _soon_, I'll grant you, but I'm thinking I can probably jerry-rig a time harness out of some of this tech you got down here."

"Time harness?" Gruffalo tipped off the ledge and rolled to his feet. "Whatzit?"

"A Time Harness, lovely things, I know that because I've just thought of them." The Doctor began to cheerily pace. "Redistributes age or something, like a horse and cart with a harness."

"What's a horse?" Skip laughed.

"It's not terribly important, point being, I can make it so I – and Wire by the way – can leave these mines," The Doctor picked up Cling. "So Cling here is not too heavy, right?" He looked at Cling who giggled at him. "But she's a little heavy because of gravity, which pulls us-"

"We know what gravity is, numpty!" Gruffalo protested. "It's time harnesses we want t'know about, get that big ol' chin of yours waggin'!"

"Well, see if I picked up Sean instead and no offense there Sean, but he's bigger and heavier than Cling and so gravity pulls him much more." Gruffalo rolled his eyes. "This place does that with time. The more time you've got on you – so the older you are – the more it pulls down." The Doctor set Cling down, who promptly hugged his leg. "A harness would make my time weigh more like Cling's by spreading it out!"

"Oh!" Sean exclaimed. "Like a pulley system? Or a tow?"

"Yes!" The Doctor grinned gleefully. "So, a time harness would make it less heavy for me to pull myself out of the time well, sort of like pulling Cling out of a well is easier than pulling me out of one."

"Alright then," Skip readily accepted this explanation, and Sean was nodding in clear understanding. "We could live in these mines then – no worries about gettin' old, we can grow food using the crystal light." She smiled to herself. "Could be nice?"

"Could be very nice." The Doctor grinned. "So that's the plan? Let's make ourselves a new colony of Tara?"

"Sure sounds good t'me Doc." Skip was now grinning ear to ear, but snapped to attention just as quickly. "Alright then. You 'n Wire can get t'work on the harness and security system, we kids are gonna go get into the big control room."

The Doctor gave a mock salute, and the children scattered down the tunnels. Sean sidled over to the Doctor looking a touch sheepish. "Scuse sir, but can I help you and wire?" He smiled even more sheepishly. "Got some way with the machines – I help Wire with repairs n' like."

"Every hand is a helping one." The Doctor smiled broadly. "Little Brother can come to?"

"This." Little Brother commented.

"Nah, he more use in the circuits of the gate." Skip chuckled. "Got the reflexes of a flea." She paused. "That's rate good, by the by, Mr Patronizing." She jogged off after the kids, her muttering echoing behind her. "Thinkin' we don't know what gravity is – where's he think we work?"

* * *

As the Time Harness' software was compiling, Sean was in the process of setting up the main communication system. "See, we all got these ear pieces right?" He pointed at a tiny piece of electronics in his ear. "Wire just repaired one of our inserters." The Doctor picked up the machine Wire had dropped earlier and scrutinized it. "Best to pop one in I say." Sean advised.

"No thanks," The Doctor put the inserter back down. "Gives me the jitters that sort of stuff does. Very Orwell."

"Suit yerself," Sean shrugged. He handed the microphone to the Doctor. Sean pointed at the multiple screens. "We have a camera on our helmets, s'we can see what anyone wearin' is seeing."

"Excellent," The Doctor bounced on his toes. "I'll need to get a look at the insides of the pipelines so I can see how this security system looks on the other end."

"I can handle the switchboard – bit complex and uh," He scratched at his ear. "I wager you don't rightly know everyone's names, then."

"Right-ly indeed." The Doctor nudged the microscope. "Give me Skip?" Sean pressed a few keys and gave a thumbs up. "Hey Skip, you reading me?"

"Loud 'n clear, Doctor!"

"Alright, then, let's get these bots disabled and this security up as a defense for your kids." The Doctor swung into a seat and set his legs up on the desk. "Now follow my instructions…"

* * *

Skip nodded listening to the Doctor. "Alright, Foxtrot take group theta into the tubes and see if ya' can't get the video feed of the cables to the doc?" Skip adjusted her helmet slightly, as Foxtrot and her group ran off, Foxtrot's small voice orchestrating a map out for her team. "Doc, you gettin' feeds?"

_**"Sure am!"**_

"Rate good," Skip turned to another group of kids, then pointed at four more kids. "Right on, you four are the leads of t'subgroupings." She listened to the Doctor for a second. "You four g't to the surface and go bring our families t'the mine. Tell 'em we got the Doctor 'ere and he's gonna build us a new Tara." Skip pointed out Snapple. "Y' can take a group of your best pickpocks, and g't us supplies and the like. Get plenty of growables."

"Ey, Skip, why aren't I gettin' a group?" Gruffalo growled, frowning. "I'm good."

Skip smiled at Gruffalo. "Cause I need y'with me!" She smiled brightly. "Us lot, we headin' outside to take the control room for those bots." She glanced at Little Brother. "I want you on sentry Little Brother, we need your instincts."

Little Brother nodded, more to himself than Skip.

Turning back to her small group, she gave Gruffalo a friendly punch on the arm, "I'm glad you're comin' with us Gruffs." Gruffalo beamed proudly, slight forgotten, and the children set off down the tunnel, leaping off the rocky floor, and pressing their hands to crystals as they ran past.

It was upon entry to the gateway, that Skip suspected something might be wrong: the gate was wide open.

She shrugged and assumed Sean or the Doctor had jimmied it open without access codes at the gate site and the kids darted past. It was when they came to the maw of the mines, that she recognized it as a true mistake.

Hovering in the cavern, four white orbs were hovering off the ground. They were the size of boulders, and covered in various arms and devices, and a single telescopic eye that could spin all the way round. As Skip came into view it focused on her.

"Do. Not. Resist." The Orb insisted, and Skip glanced down beneath it. In a pulsating, blue light, the children from the other groups who had been sent to the outside were wailing and running to keep up with the orbs, so as not to be dragged along the ground.

"How about y'don't touch my crew!" Skip yelled back at the orb, and braced herself for the losing match against the bots.

* * *

The Doctor cursed in galifreyan, and he heard what he was very sure was an irish swear word from Sean as they stared at the video feed they were getting from Skip.

"The ear pieces! The video feed!" The Doctor exclaimed, and promptly Sean was trying to pull his earbud out manually. The Doctor held Sean still and pointed his screwdriver, until the earbud whirred to a click. Promptly he duplicated the procedure for Wire as well. As he did so, he thumbed the microphone and ordered into it: "It's the earbuds, and vids Skip, communication is not trustworthy until I get this sorted!"

The Doctor pushed Sean's seat to the side and began frantically typing into the computer. Several error reports showed up on the screen. Sean meanwhile, stared transfixed at the video feeds as the bots began to advance on the children.

In horror, Sean yelped as the children in the tractor underside of the bots, began to compress their tractor space to make room for the new children.

"Oh they wouldn't," The Doctor breathed. "Not children!"

"No, not children," Sean grabbed the microsphone. "Dorchadas I am talkin' t' you and if you," Sean looked at the Doctor motioning at the gate program on the screen, and automatically, The Doctor pointed his screwdriver at the machine. The gates began to whirr, and the security system activated within the mines. "Ever want to see these crystals again y' can not touch those kids!"

A video came up on the screen revealing a young man wearing a human resources uniform from the mining corp studied them. "Who's t'man in the control room with you?"

Sean continued fiercely, as the Doctor finished rerouting the security protocols. "We'll cave in all the tunnels if y' hurt our people."

The man looked at them coolly. "We don't negotiate with terrorists." The Doctor pointed his screwdriver at the camera above the monitors in disgust, and shut off the feed they were giving the HR employee.

* * *

A bot seized Gruffalo, and began putting him into the already shrinking tractor space. The children were groaning in pain, as Skip gave a feral roar and dashed after Gruffalo but as she stepped over the threshold of the mines towards the bot, she found herself unable to pass it, her body feeling like it was tearing in two as she was thrown back into the mines.

Wild-eyed, she stared at the cave mouth.

"I'm too old!" She wailed. "Doctor, I'm old!"

The bot that had been intent on her swiveled towards Little Brother and finished placing Gruffalo into its tractor holding area. Little Brother cowered against a wall, and Skip snarled: "Oh no you don't!" She was rolling to her feet, when the Bot had pushed Little Brother into its tractor area, and was already backing out of the mines when

all hell broke loose

swayed and stank and burst alive

the few crystal shards, walled into

the sides of the cavern

shattered.

And Skip,

She had felt as

though

she had been torn in two before. But each inch of

her was screaming

wrenching

all of her time

was wavering and the space-time continuum began to fray.

As Little Brother screamed as though he was a tortured animal.

* * *

Deep in the mines, The Doctor's eyes rolled back in his head, feeling the deep waves of temporal distortion wash over him, and he promptly collapsed as Sean shouted at the video screen in frustration.

* * *

**To Be Continued!**


	3. E2: A Mother's Touch

A Mother's Touch

* * *

** S**kip stared dumbly, as the world collided around her. Things that seemed causal suddenly were very not, and above it all was the scream of Little Brother growing steadily and steadily grainier. Finally all she could hear was a never-ending whirr, scraping and snarling as the edges of objects stuttered, and time began to hop-skip and trip over itself in its haste to exist.

For a gut-wrenching moment, she thought the children trapped in the tractor beams were dying, she thought she saw her elder sister again, screaming ferally at her.

The bot shuddered, cracked, bent, shattered, remained entirely whole and with that Skip got to her feet – where were her feet, did she have feet, if the ground was shaking like it didn't exist what good would her feet be!

She began to sprint towards the bot, threw herself towards it, felt the very fabric of the mines try to repel her and shudder and squawk about the ripple running through space-time and-

The bot she was aiming at was gone, and she was sprawled on the floor with the children that had formerly been in its tractor compartment. She crawled over to Gruffalo and clung to him, hand scrounging for Little Brother who was sobbing, curled tight into a tiny ball.

Everything was normal, and yet everything was not okay; Skip looked up to see the eyepieces of the other bots focusing intently on them, and swore she could see her own reflection in the glass.

* * *

**A/N:**

Well here we are again, ready for a second installment of DW: S7.5. I'm really not sure how people are taking my story thus far – as it's only been available online for a day or so – so I feel like I'm still taking a shot in the dark with how well or not well I'm doing. So, here's hoping.

Whilst the first episode had more things happening, we are winding back down in this one for more character stuff, although there is a reveal I think is pretty obvious! Let me know how you went with the reveal though – was it too obvious? Not obvious enough? I'd love to know how I'm handling reveals.

Not to mention how awkward it is poking at the canon a bit, eep. Would you believe this story idea predates The Doctor's Wife? Nevertheless, whilst I do bring a companion in board by the end of this episode, we will be addressing _The God Complex_ and why the Doctor is being a moron in this episode.

Anyway, whoooooo-eeeeeee-ooooooh!

* * *

Sean gazed at the video feed in horror, shuddering as time snarled over him. "Doctor!" He gaped as the Doctor dropped like he'd been cut off at the knees, and Sean reached out for him.

"What nature o' weapon d'ya have in there?" The Human Resources man was pale. Sean glanced back at the screen, and hesitantly picked up the microphone, thumbing the button on it.

"A…uh…a," Sean thought hard, brow furrowed. He unthumbed and then rethumbed the microphone, "That was one of our Theta Timeandrelativedimensionsinspace- uh, based explosive. Y'saw what it did to your bot?"

The man on screen was still.

"Y'feel what it did t'your bot?" Sean persisted. "Well, that's what we got."

"We- Dorchadas Mining Corps will, will get back to you." The man was still a pearly, sick white colour. "Until then please regard these as hostages."

Sean slumped back in his chair, and turned the microphone off as the video feed of the man vanished.

* * *

Skip watched in silence as the bots retreated with their cargo, tractor beam now at maximum width, children no longer crushed together. She began to narrowly glare at the retreating gleam of the lenses who stared just as definitely back at her.

Exhausted, she nudged Gruffalo. "Hey Grufs?" She looked at Little Brother and reached out for the whimpering boy. Little Brother shied from her touch, rolling into a tiny feral shape.

"Let's go home," Skip mumbled as she watched the gates whirr open again. She got up, helping children to their feet, inspecting bruises and cuts, and all the while trying to reach out to the stray cat fierceness of Little Brother.

"Come on, Elbee." Gruffalo cajoled, walking slowly and carefully towards the retreating Little Brother. "You gonna be aight?"

The child darted off down the darkness of the corridor and Gruffalo made to chase after him. Skip held Gruffalo's arm. "He might hurt you." She murmured.

"He's one of ours." Gruffalo objected.

"He's different t'you and you know it." Skip watched Little Brother run away, crystals glittering as he hurried past.

* * *

The Doctor rubbed his head, and Sean was clearly perking up as the boy's ginger head swam into the Doctor's vision. "Doc!" Sean started getting to his feet, offering the Doctor a hand. "I was startin' t'worry about you there."

"Just what," The Doctor got to his feet, ran a hand along his neck. "Is that brother of yours?"

"Beg pardon?" Sean wilted.

"He's-"

Skip and the remaining children came crowding into the room. "Doc, what are we going to do?"

"Where is he?" The Doctor swung round at her, voice loud, and Gruffalo twitched from the noise. "Where is, what is his name?"

"Little Brother?" Skip asked.

"His _name_ is little brother?" The Doctor demanded.

"Well, yes," Skip mumbled. "He's never had another."

"What is he?"

"I- I dunno." Skip's eyes were wide, and she withered under the Doctor's commanding questions.

"And you didn't think it was strange he didn't have a name? That a five year old could not leave the mines? You didn't think to ask about any of this?"

Skip glared at him with a flash-flash of her eyes, drawing herself up to her full height, twintails flicking over her shoulder, "He was _ours_!" Ferociously she continued. "He was ours, he'd always bin' ours. He was a child n' he needed us, n' he worked 'ard, n' he was one o'ours and that was everything that ev'r mattered!" She seemed to sag, her spirit flagging. "That was."

Skip couldn't meet the Doctor's eyes, staring intently at her feet. Uncertain, the Doctor watched Skip, considering.

"I had a brother," Sean interrupted the deep silence with an admission. "Just a lil' one though, see I was older by twelve mins. Little Brother, y'know?" Sean sucked his breath in, and looked off to the side as the Doctor turned to look at Sean. "Skip dunno about it, please don't yell at 'er sir, she honest doesn't." Sean flexed his hands uncertainly. "My little brother died." He quickly flecked at his eyes and added in explanation: "Hunger, right."

"What have you been calling your Little Brother, Sean?" The Doctor asked, voice quiet and gentle. Skip gave an unruly sniffle in the background.

"Month later, though I was, in LCA just five n' hurtin' like mad," Sean rubbed his arms. "An' I swear I was extractin' crystals when clear as day there was a broke one." Skip's eyes widened. "I ain't never seen one since, well not until the Doc came; he stepped in the goo. The crystal I saw that day, t'was all dried up though?" Sean looked distant, remembering. "So I, ah, I poked it."

The Doctor couldn't help the tiniest chuckle. Scientific test number one: poke it.

Sean continued, "Thing is, it began t'look like me. I was scared witless." He laughed to himself. "Was alive I figur'd. It blinked and such, not much of a talker, but …purred n' things. Followed me, and ah, I figured, you know, leave it be." Sean was now giggling to himself haplessly. "I thought I was mad!"

"So you took a strange creature you knew nothing about in?"

He wrung his hand haplessly, now back with the Doctor. "What was I meant t'do? I missed m'brother. He wasn't hurting anybody. He was just purring and tryin' to help me do m'work, and snuggled up to me and followed me all day and waited for me until I came back the next day." Sean was limp. "What… wha' was I meant to do?"

There was the tiniest sound at the doorway, and everybody looked over to see Little Brother half-hiding by the door: "Sean?"

Sean stared at Little Brother like he'd seen a ghost, and the Doctor realized that perhaps that was what Sean always saw when he saw Little Brother. Little Brother tried again, a tiny sound which has no name and came from a mouth so alien, and yet was clearly so very – not human – but sentient.

Shaken out of his fugue, Sean stomped over to Little Brother and Little Brother nuzzled against Sean plaintively. "Ey Little Brother." Sean mumbled.

"Hurts." Little Brother gibbered, clinging.

The Doctor sighed: "What were you meant to do indeed Sean," Sean looked at the Doctor, worried, protective. "No, no, I'm sorry I made you think I was angry."

"You were yellin' at Skip."

"I know, I know," The Doctor edged over towards the two children. "I'm not mad, I just want to know," He looked Little Brother straight in the eye, who stared back. "What are you?"

Little Brother ducked against Sean.

"He isn't rightly sure." Sean looked to the side. "Skip was dead-on there; human or not, he is a child. I taught him how t'do just about everything." Sean shrugged uncertainly. "How can we find out what he is, when he doesn't even know?"

The Doctor scratched his proud chin in thought. "That is, if he really doesn't know."

* * *

They had all moved to the main quarts as the Doctor explained very gently to Little Brother – and his general audience – the next plan of action. "Now not sure if I mentioned this, but I'm not 100% human either."

"Why? How human are you?" Skip asked immediately.

"Uhhh, sort of," The Doctor wavered. "In the rough ballpark of, say, 0%?"

"So plain ol' not human?" Skip clarified.

"Weelll," The Doctor grinned winningly. "Yeah."

"Fair 'nough." Skip nodded, and the remaining puddle (_pond_, the Doctor almost thought) of children nodded with her, sometimes having a quick discussion with their neighbor as they did so.

"What," Sean hovered to the side. "Are you going t'do with Little Brother."

"Well, as I was saying," The Doctor tried to smile reassuringly at Sean as he knelt in front of Little Brother. "I'm not entirely human, I'm actually from a planet called Gallifrey." There was a pregnant, nostalgic pause, before the Doctor continued. "Obscure pop quiz everybody?" He looked round the room. "Do Gallifreyans have mild telepathic abilities?"

"Yes." Little Brother said firmly.

"That's right," The Doctor gingerly settled Little Brother down. "I would like permission to search your mind for answers? I'm not sure who or what you are, and the answer may be rattling up there where you can't find it either."

Little Brother bit his lip. "Hurts."

"I'll try not to hurt you, but it may hurt a little." The Doctor nodded, worlds away from the speculative children watching them.

"I don't know what I am." Little Brother's voice broke into a whine.

"And no matter how much you love your brother – and he will always be your brother, nothing that happens will change that – but no matter how much you love him, you aren't human."

"Yes." Little Brother looked at the Doctor with round eyes.

"And he doesn't understand what you understand, and you don't understand what he understands." The Doctor continued.

"I know things. I know _this_." Little Brother pointed directly at the Doctor. "This, your name is th's."

Something connected in the Doctor's eyes.

Something that made sense.

"Ah, the greek?" Little Brother nodded in confirmation. "That's right."

"I'm always right, and I don't know why." Little Brother mumbled. He reached out to the Doctor. "Please tell me."

"Okay Little Brother." The Doctor moved his fingers across Little Brother's face, seeking the psi-points. His brow creased slightly, as his hands shifted Barely a centimeter of difference, but clearly not human.

"M' name is **The Darkness**." And with that the Doctor slid into the strange, alien mind in search of answers.

* * *

"If you had all the money in the world," A smartly dressed man with perfect hair (that was to be hated, loved and despaired of in equal measure) stepped in front of a pure blue background. "What would you buy?"

"I'd buy a hot tub," Josie, mother-of-two smiled as she hefted a two year old on her hip. "Somewhere to relax after a long day with the kids."

"I know I'd buy a new car!" Said Chanel the young professional who looked more like a model. "And a decent pair of shoes to wear around the office."

"Haha, another pint!" Bob the construction worker fake-laughed as he did just that.

"Reckon I'd go to Fiji, Australia, Thailand, Hawai'i, New Zealand – everywhere!" Laughed Peter, the middle-aged white demographic.

"A magical pink unicorn!" Squealed James the five year old, CEO of Centuryprime Pty Ltd.

"I," An immaculately dressed John the corporate solicitor froze, surrounded by a clutter of luxury items. "I, just don't know!"

Returning to the first man and his perfect, perfect hair: "Lawyers aren't like you or me," He explained. "They have more money than anybody else and don't know what to do with it, so please, send your wishlists to the e-mail or phone the number above," He read out a number that appeared in large numbers above his head. "So lawyers like John can buy what's on it," He paused and grinned with perfect teeth and perfect hair. "For themselves."

A happy jangle played the perfect hair out: "Give back to your community; help a lawyer. Now returning to our sponsors for some more wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey Doctor Who!"

* * *

The Doctor and **The Darkness** broke apart, gasping desperately for air. The Doctor panted, and stared at **The Darkness** in shock. **The Darkness** stared right back, tears hopelessly falling down his cheeks. However, the boy did not register it. It was although it was a function of the body, a reflex to some pain.

"You're a-" The Doctor gulped in air.

"You, you," **The Darkness** gaped at him, rocking back and dropping to the ground.

"You're a TARDIS." The Doctor breathed, eyes lit up.

"You, you killed them!" **The Darkness** shrieked. "You killed them!"

"I-"

"You killed all of them, you killed all o' their everything!" **The Darkness**' voice rose in a panic, and the mines whined as reality began to shiver, and shake. "You killed their everything, everything they were n' could be, you killed their past n' their futures and you plunged the ley of time into darkness!"

The small child curled into a foetal position, screaming and sobbing as time bent and squealed around them. The Doctor tried to reach out, and the air around his fingertips turned boiling hot – it was like trying to touch scalding water – and every sense the Time Lord had could see the coiling steam of temporal distortion.

Sean winced back from the broil of space-time. "Doc!"

The Doctor tried again to reach out to **The Darkness **but he felt like his skin was tearing apart and he recoiled once more. "No time to explain Sean, but an hysterical alien who exists in a state of temporal grace is not a good thing to have in a time well!"

"I think you explained," Skip was trying to prevent the other children from panicking, but most had fled into the shaking tunnels. "Plenty fast."

Sean began to edge towards his brother, but found himself unable to approach. "Little brother!" He cried out, hand flailing into the white-hot time between them. "Little brother please!"

"Stop, Sean!" The Doctor yelled, and struggling through the waves of buckling space-time, pulled Sean away from the growing edge of the heat-sphere.

"Little Brother!" Sean shouted. "Little brother, please, please!"

Skip snarled through the thick of the fog, "It doesn't want anything to do with either o' you!" She pointed towards a tunnel. "He needs a mother's touch! Come on!"

Skip turned and ran, followed by her grimy puddle of children, and soon followed by the Doctor who dragged Sean with him. Sean flung his hands out back towards his brother, howling as he was taken from **The Darkness**.

They reached the TARDIS and Skip flung herself against the side as Gruffalo settled a mine lift by the other side of the TARDIS. A shudder of children crashed against it, and the Doctor let go of Sean long enough to throw himself against the TARDIS. The TARDIS rolled unhappily onto the lift, and Skip and her crew began to push it steadily through the rolling sea of temporal malfunction.

Slowly, but fiercely, the last of the mine crew pushed the TARDIS into the main quarts, and there was an audible snap as the entirety of space-time fell into line against the older TARDIS. A grieving child's emotions no match for the adult's sense of order, and their power to apply it.

Sean fell through the now gone temporal dysfunction, and curled on top of Little Brother, clinging to him, but **The Darkness **shook him off, fingernails clawing, and staggered over to the TARDIS. Leaned his head against the blue box, and fell to his knees crying: "He killed them all sister."

* * *

Sean hugged his knees, every so often looking up at his brother in concern. **The Darkness** was pressed against the TARDIS, humming slightly, the slight golden glow of time travel darting through the air between them. Sean looked back down at his feet, and the Doctor coughed.

Sean looked up and the Doctor smiled sadly: "She still loves you."

Confusion spread over Sean's face, "She?"

"All TARDISes are female." The Doctor's smile brightened slightly.

"Oh." Sean stared back down at his feet, looked over at **The Darkness **twice, and back at the Doctor, "So, h- she's a TARDIS?"

"Just a baby one," The Doctor and Sean both watched **The Darkness'** eyelids flutter. "A larval TARDIS. They live in our dimension in a shell, then travel through theirs in that shell, and finally shed it as an adult." He considered it. "There's a lot the Time Lords never knew about their faithful time machines, well I say machines, we grew them actually." The Doctor's teeth showed in another shy smile. "And apparently all we grew for them were shells, like hermit crabs." He nodded towards the blue box. "My TARDIS has the shell of a plant, and I suppose yours has a crystal shell."

"She's not mine." Sean mumbled.

"No, I guess you're hers' really." The Doctor hummed along with the two TARDISes for a second, and instantly **The Darkness**' eyes snapped open to look at him. The Doctor stopped and the young TARDIS settled back into its trance. "Sorry."

"She never told me her name," Sean wriggled his toes, feeling his boots inside-out. "Or that she was a girl."

"Gender isn't a big deal for her," The Doctor guessed at. "And you would never have understood her name."

"Sure I do, Darkness, eh?" Sean frowned around the word. "Although I don't understand why s'her name – it's a silly soundin' name."

"Not Darkness, **The Darkness**."

"The Darkness?"

"No," The Doctor said it again, and Sean listened hard, trying to peer into the strange layers of the word. "It's like a temporal trill," The Doctor explained. "Hard to feel unless you're sensitive to that."

"**The Dark**ness." Sean tried once more, and then gave up. "I'll get it eventually. I guess if I don't understand t'name, I can't understand why it's hers."

"You understand being alone, don't you?" The Doctor shuffled on the spot, and finally deciding on action, scooted over to sit next to Sean. "You understand being in this mine every day, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"That's why it's her name."

"**The Darkness**?"

"You got it." The Doctor smiled. "Not that," He chuckled. "It is her name, not entirely." He looked at his TARDIS with interest. "TARDISes seem to have two names, one for the now and one for the," Sean and he met eyes. "Not now."

"**The Darkness**," Sean rolled the name about his mouth before spitting it out like a lump of difficult to pronounce toothpaste. "Would that be her now name?"

"Now names are less personal but more applicable after-all," The Doctor agreed. "Interesting."

Sean peered at the Doctor. "What did s'mean 'he killed them all'?"

Now the Doctor stared at his feet, wriggling under the question. Finally, he answered, "There was this big war a long time ago, Sean, and if I hadn't done what I had and killed my kind and the daleks both, then the daleks would have eradicated every inch of life they could."

"On Gallifrey?"

"On every planet, every asteroid belt, every ship, every sea, every speck."

"Oh."

"Big uh oh." The Doctor agreed, eyes faraway. "I killed her kind with mine. Grown TARDISes live in the time vortex, they swim in the ether of the time plane. We never knew it. The repercussions of the Time War spilled through the vortex, and obliterated the living TARDISes that dwelt there. I killed every matured TARDIS from now until the beginning and end of time."

Sean remained silent, respectful, processing.

"Oh, yes," The Doctor spoke to himself. "There were TARDISes like mine, teenaged ones, not quite adults, chrysalis TARDISes that survived, flung out to the far-reaches of the universe. So long as they weren't in the vortex they were safe, well, not on Gallifrey either. All the babies trapped in the Time War as well."

"What…about **The Darkness**?" Sean managed, and it was although the Doctor hadn't heard him, but merely happened upon answering his question.

"Except here, of course," The Doctor muttered. "Some must have escaped, but the TARDISes could only grow in certain conditions, a habitat if you will." He shook his head. "By the time the Time Lords came from Gallifrey, the range of the TARDISes had shrunk to a lonely planet surrounding a lonely singularity." He paused. "Except here, in the living crystal. Yours must have escaped during, ah, that situation with the master of course, those drums, and how it must have swum here."

The Doctor froze.

"Sean, what year was it when **The Darkness** hatched?"

"200, 100," Sean nodded. "A centenary from the big two-oh."

The Doctor looked at Sean slowly, something between a smile and frown playing at his lips. "Bad Wolf." He looked at his TARDIS. "Bad Wolf hatched her! The TARDIS hatched her, oh just an accident," The Doctor leapt to his feet.

Skip dozily raised her head to look at the Doctor's sudden movements. "Wot?" She grumbled, and the other children responded to her voice instantaneously, slowly blinking their eyes and swiveling to look at the Doctor.

"Just a single moment in time-space that accidentally started the life-cycle of the TARDISes again. These crystals," He gestured at the cave. "Some drums," He ran on the spot, thumping the ground. "And we've got a baby TARDIS trapped in the crystal, growing, growing and," He clapped his hands together. "Bad Wolf! A single moment in time-space when a stream was everywhere, and she was here, and she broke **The Darkness** out of her little crystal egg, just as the seeds hatched back on Gallifrey when exposed to the time-energy. Just one little TARDIS, oh oh!" The Doctor latched onto a cave wall, and ran his sonic against the crystalline structure. "Oh yes, oh yes, oh, oh, oh, no." The Doctor recoiled. "You use these crystals for their energy?"

"Ah, yea," Skip nodded. "They're safer than Hadrons."

"Because they're babies! They'd never hurt you, they _can't_ hurt you, even as you drink their life dry!" The Doctor yanked at his hair, waved his arms in anger. "They're, they're trapped, like rats, like us, like you Skip, too-old Skip, they're too young and immature to escape and they're being killed before they're born."

"So?" Gruffalo questioned. "Be like killin' a zygote."

"Except these are endangered zygotes, except that there is a finite supply and then there are only two TARDISes in all of time and space, and neither of them are matured."

"Except that we're not trapped." Skip cut in.

"Oh?" The Doctor spun about, as Skip clambered to her feet, hands on hips.

"Whilst you've bin' angstin' about endangered species, I've thought some about what happened with the bots." Skip rolled her eyes. "I escaped the mines when Little Brother was puttin' up a scream. And if he's a TARDIS, n' you've got one too, I gotta' think that yours ain't so stuck." Skip smiled. "I gotta think she heard a child and refused t'move until you found them too."

The Doctor looked up at his TARDIS, a glow coming back to his eyes. "Oh," He stepped towards the TARDIS, placing a single palm along her humming doors. "Oh, _girl_." He breathed. "What would we do without you?"

"All kinds of stupid things," **The Darkness** answered. "That's what **Dream Thief **says."

"**Dream Thief**, huh?" The Doctor scratched behind his ear. "I prefer Sexy."

* * *

Cling ran into the open door of the TARDIS with a squeal: "Daddy!"

The Doctor tried to absorb the impact of the tiny girl, but found himself quite at a loss for air. Struggling to breathe, he reached passed Cling to the door, pulling it shut behind them.

"And that's Cling!" Skip laughed giddily, surrounded once again by her ocean of children. "That's t'whole crew!"

"And the bots are disabled," The Doctor tried to remove Cling as best he could. **The Darkness** smiled shyly from the side, before pressing against Sean again. "Have we got enough food for everyone?"

Snapple eyed the hoard of food, seedlings, and other necessities. "No." She declared with dismay.

"That's a yea, Doc," Skip snickered, and tossing a twin tail over her shoulder. "Gerrof him Cling so he can take us t'New Tara. New New Tara?"

"Tara." Sean affirmed.

"That can b'my now name," **The Darkness** declared. "**Tara**."

"What a tidy way, oof," The Doctor pulled a lever, as Cling continued to fight with Skip about whether or not the Doctor could be said to have bodily autonomy in regards to his leg. "To clean things up. Time machines. I love 'em."

"Thank you," **Tara** replied.

* * *

"You're sure you won't come Sean?" The Doctor ruffled Sean's hair in parting. "There's a big universe out there."

"It's still a big universe right 'ere." Sean replied brightly, watching **Tara** nuzzle the Doctor's TARDIS happily. "Somebody's gonna have t'raise a colony of humans and TARDISes. 'Specially since you're stealin' the artful dodger of these mines."

Skip – with great delight at any people who might be writing down her exploits for they would need to write the next word – skipped with unbridled, temperamental joy. "All of time n' space in a box and you say no Sean?"

"I prefer it in crystalized form." Sean laughed, and rush-hugged the Doctor.

"Gruffalo I am leavin' you in charge!" Skip announced to Gruffalo, and suddenly sniffling traitorously, she began her final line-run through the kids. Hanging out her usual hair ruffles, some more unusual close hugs, and the last of her sweets to Snapple. "Share." Skip insisted and Snapple frowned at her.

The Doctor hugged Sean back, and Sean laughed, "Oh I'll hold you t' that visiting thing!"

Baffled the Doctor stared at Sean for a moment as he and Skip settled into the TARDIS, doors swinging shut, and the usual grinding whir starting up. Outside, **Tara** spun in circles, whirring herself in harmony with the TARDIS.

And the Doctor began to laugh, hysterically even.

"Wot?" Skip demanded, pausing in her adventure around the control room. "Whatzit?"

"He said it was blank to him!" The Doctor choked out. "He can pronounce TARDIS names!" The Doctor began laughing again, unable to help himself.

"What?!" Skip scowled.

"History _does_ repeat itself!"

"What?" Skip yelled again. "Why won't you explain what's so funny!"

A few giggles, "Oh Skipadee, where, haha, to?"


End file.
